A Little Twist of Fate
by LogicIsBoring44
Summary: Riding high on his theft...*ahem* "borrowing" of an outmoded TARDIS, the Doctor and his granddaughter take her for a spin but end up in an unexpected place: a nursery on Earth in Lawrence, Kansas in 1979.


He just stole a TARDIS. She's ancient but still as beautiful as the day she rolled off the assembly line. His first impulse is to see his beloved granddaughter, Susan. She will go nuts over his latest escapade.

Not five minutes later, his granddaughter is squealing in his ear as she runs all about his newly acquired ship, chattering away at an impressive rate with minimal breaks to breathe. That is a mighty impressive skill, one he hopes to learn as well. Maybe next regeneration. One never knows until the moment comes. His granddaughter will have an easier time with her regenerations. Female Time Lords always do. They got to pick certain characteristics of their next regeneration, a little unfair, but that is life, isn't it?

"Let's take her for a ride!" Susan yelled, excitement written all over her face.

Who is he to deny her?

The Doctor set a course for Appalachia. Take off is a bit rocky but manageable. Susan seemed to like it, judging by the big smile. Landing is also bumpy but the Doctor finds it quaint and an enduring trait. He doesn't think he'll be changing it.

Susan bounded to the TARDIS doors, tossing a cheerful glance over her shoulder, she pulled the doors open, took two steps out, and abruptly stopped.

"Grandfather?" She sounded confused. "Er, you might want to come take a look."

Brow furrowed, the Doctor strode forward out the doors to see what has Susan bewildered. He stopped beside her and stared. What-?

A baby gurgled up at them. A human baby. A boy, going by the large amount of blue clothing dotted all around the room. The baby waved his arms at them, a gummy smile on his cherubic face, and cooed nonsense at them. Well, to humans, it's nonsense, just noises a baby makes when they're learning to talk, but to Time Lords, the baby is speaking a language. An old one.

He asked who are they and where's blonde lady. The Doctor assumes he means his mother.

"Hello," the Doctor greeted cautiously. The baby cries and in comes mom and dad. They don't want that. "She's not here, little one."

The baby scrunched up its face. He knows that face. That's a crying face. Oh, dear.

"Susan, what do we do?" He asked, alarmed.

"How am I supposed to know what to do?" Susan shot back, freaking out.

The Doctor panicked and grabbed the nearest object in hopes to stop the baby from crying, a stuffed golden wolf in attack position. Pretty vicious looking one too. The Doctor frowned. What is - Who gives a baby a terrifying looking wolf for a stuffed animal? An object the baby sleeps with no less. He kind of doesn't want to meet this baby's parents. He doesn't want Susan to meet them. Hell, he's half tempted to steal the baby away from them if this is what they give an infant for comfort.

The baby stopped scrunching up its face and stared wide-eyed at the stuffed wolf, gurgling at the familiar shape. He waved uncoordinatedly at the golden wolf and tried to grab it. The Doctor hesitantly lowered the terrifying stuffed animal into the crib. The baby gave a happy coo when he had the wolf in his grasp.

The Doctor watched the baby play and "talk" to his plush toy. Grinning, when the baby let out a high-pitched screech, and shook the toy happily. He looked at the Doctor and gave him a gummy smile.

Bad Wolf. The baby called it Bad Wolf, and that he loved his Bad Wolf. Interesting baby.

"Dean," Susan spoke up suddenly.

The Doctor jumped at the sudden noise and 'Dean' gurgled at him. The Doctor smiled down at him and gently booped his nose.

"How do you know his name is Dean?" He asked, not taking his eyes off the very happy baby.

"It says so in his baby book. Dean Matthew Winchester. 6 months old. Born January 21. 8 pounds, 4 ounces. First born," Susan summarized, knowing her grandfather didn't care about the rest.

"Dean, huh?" He said, reaching down into the crib. Dean grabbed his finger and held on with all his might, which is quite a lot strength, surprisingly. Dean tried to bring his finger to his mouth to gnaw on while keeping a firm grip on his wolf.

"Uh-uh, little one." He gently pulled his finger out of Dean's grasp.

He scrunched up his face again. Oh, boy. The Doctor quickly reacted by picking him up and holding him. Dean immediately calmed down and stared at the Time Lord in awe. He used Dean's bib to wipe away excess drool.

"Hello, Dean, I'm the Doctor," he greeted the infant properly.

Dean gurgled back a greeting, grinning widely.

Dean had amazing green eyes for a human. They looked almost unreal. He wondered where he got them from.

"Can I hold him?"

The Doctor started. He forgot Susan was even here. He carefully transferred Dean over to his granddaughter. Dean stared at her too, astonished.

"Hi, Dean, I'm Susan. It's nice to meet you," Susan greeted the awe-struck infant. Dean clumsily tried to grab something by her face. He stared at it intently. A little unnerving. A baby shouldn't be able to hold that level of intensity, at least not yet. That's a few months off.

"Grandfather, what's he trying to do?" Susan asked, apprehensive.

The Doctor moved closer and tried to see what Dean is staring at. "I don't know. There doesn't seem to be anything of interest. To us at least. Remember infants, of any race, are prone to seeing what we cannot. They're more sensitive. They have the ability to perceive what our adult mind cannot process or believe."

"He's got the prettiest eyes I've ever seen. No one on Gallifrey has his color eyes," Susan said distractedly. "I don't even think anyone could hope to regenerate with his eye color."

The Doctor grunted, mind still on what Dean's staring at. Whatever it is, it's centered around Susan's face. An idea popped into his head. "Susan, give him to me."

"Why?" She hugged Dean tighter to her chest.

"Just, let me hold him. I have a theory."

Susan reluctantly handed Dean over.

Dean smiled at him then quickly stared at something around his face. Ah, got you. He shifted so Dean is cradled in his arms. Not a minute later, his eyes drifted shut and he fell into a deep sleep.

"Did you do that?" Susan asked with a sappy smile at the slumbering infant.

"No. He simply fell asleep. His parents must have just put him down for a nap."

He took a step back to stand next to his granddaughter after placing Dean back into his crib. They stared at the human baby who, impossibly, stole his way into their hearts with ease and speed.

"We need to go. First baby. His parents might be the worrying type and come check on him." Susan refused to move. He didn't either. "Susan, we have to go. Now."

"Okay," she whispered. She moved forward to give Dean a quick kiss goodbye on his chubby cheek. Tears in her eyes, she ran into the TARDIS, making sure not to make a sound.

The Doctor stepped up to Dean's crib. He stared down at the slumbering infant, mind whirring. He's special. Unique. That's interesting. He saw what should have been impossible, their power of regeneration. All Time Lords have it. It supposedly surrounds them like a shroud, and Dean can see it.

Definitely special.

He leaned down and kissed Dean on the crown of his head, the power of a Time Lord passed through the contact, images of a planet Dean might never see floated through his mind, and Dean gave a dreamy coo. The power he transferred into Dean is but a sliver at his disposal. He could have handled more but the Doctor didn't want to change or hurt Dean, he just wanted Dean to have beautiful, one-of-a-kind dreams. They should last until Dean turns four. He'll have to return to give Dean more visions of the universe. Of adventures, journeys, and hopefully numerous explorations.

Someone as special as Dean should have equally special dreams.

"Goodnight, little one," he whispered softly. Dean's soft blond hair is silky and smells like baby powder, milk, and something uniquely Dean. "I'll see you again."

Humans. He has a feeling he'll be coming back to this planet again and again. As for now, he has a TARDIS to talk to. She brought him here. Hopefully she'll provide answers.

His body thrummed with unidentifiable energy. He's excited, quite ridiculously so, and he's not bothered by it. The universe is wide open for him and Susan, and there is nothing to stop them.


End file.
